Recover PDF Metadata does not work Zotero 2.1.7, Firefox 4.0.1 on Mac OS X 10.6.7

Hi,

I am using Zotero 2.1.7, Firefox 4.0.1 on Mac OS X 10.6.7.

I am having difficulties recovering metadata from PFD files. When I right-click on the file and select the action, I get an error message "PDF text could not be read" ("Le texte du PDF ne peut pas ĂȘtre lu").

I have explored the forum and found someone with a similar issue linked to indexing, so I have re-installed the indexing tools and destroyed and rebuilt the index database, but the situation is the same.

BTW, indexing works properly on my installation anyway.

Any advice ?

Best,

Guillaume Daudin
  • are you sure that the pdf in question has OCRd or embedded text?
  • Hi,

    Thank you for your answer. I am sure it has metadata (I have added it by hand).

    I checked, it also has embedded text.

    here is the file : http://dl.free.fr/hH7zq0Fcx

    It is indexed normally.

    Best,

    Guillaume
  • OK, works for me. (The XMP metadata isn't used, btw. - Zotero just goes to google scholar).
    So to make sure we have all the facts: The file is shown as "indexed" on the right (next to the small round green arrow? Your error message is what _exactly_ (the original French if your using a French version of Zotero)? Have you ever been able to retrieve metadata for any pdf?
    Then, create an error report right after trying to retrieve metadata -
    http://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_bugs
    and post the ID here.
  • Yes, the file is shown as "indexed".

    The error message is : "Le texte du PDF n'a pas pu ĂȘtre lu" It is in a "Progression" box facing the name of the file.

    Here is the report ID : 766772562
  • Ooop. Forgot something. I have never tried before to retrieve metadata.
  • Ok - devs are busy with the server right now I assume - once they're done, let's see if they can find something useful in the error report.
  • Can you provide a Debug ID for the Retrieve Metadata attempt?
  • Here it is : 2133625854
  • Sorry, I did it wrong. Here it is : D1984580464
  • Hi Dan, hi Adam,

    Any news ?
  • edited July 30, 2011
    > (The XMP metadata isn't used, btw. - Zotero just goes to google scholar).
    > adamsmith

    Why though? Some PDFs are tagged by the authors or publishers and google scholar might not know about it (e.g. in the case of grey literature or any other kind of potentially not very visible literature such as diploma theses etc). why rely only on google-scholar?
  • The XMP metadata isn't used because Zotero hasn't been taught how to use it yet. Part of the issue is determining what format the embedded metadata is in, iirc.
This discussion has been closed.